(Photo: Yoel Levy)
By Jessica Steinberg - December 17, 2021
When Nazareth’s Liturgical Festival kicked off Thursday night with an opening concert celebrating 250 years of Beethoven, every seat at the performance, held in the city’s Salesian Church, was filled. The concert was completely sold out.
“It’s the first time that the whole festival is sold out,” said Nabil Abboud Ashkar, violinist and director of the Polyphony Conservatory in Nazareth, which runs the annual event. “That’s very rare and rewarding right now.”
About 35 percent of the audience is local, including Christian and Muslim Nazarenes who support the conservatory. The rest of the attendees at the weekend festival will mostly be Jewish tourists from out of town. Some may be long-time fans of the conservatory, but many are simply people who want a weekend away in a nearby destination that feels somewhat, well, foreign.
“Nazareth feels like you’re getting away,” said Abboud Ashkar. “We have the ability to offer both tourism, a special Christmas atmosphere and high culture. That’s the whole idea behind the festival; culture and tourism to motivate integration.”
The festival, held annually during the Christmas season, allows the conservatory to open its doors and reach out to the wider community, helping break down perceptions and bring together the Jewish and Arab communities to hear classical works performed in the city known as Jesus’s childhood hometown.
Read More: Times of Israel